B1 grammar · teens and adults
Present perfect continuous
How long something has been going on, and why your hands are covered in paint: duration with for and since, and the visible results of a recent activity.
Teens · AdultsCEFR B1 · Intermediate
- Age
- Ages 12+
- Level
- B1
- Skill
- Grammar
- Format
- Teacher guide
The rule
- Use it for an activity that started in the past and is still going on, usually with how long, for or since: I've been learning Spanish for six months.
- Use it for a recent activity whose results you can see now, even if it has just stopped: You're out of breath. Have you been running?
- For + a length of time (for two hours, for ten years); since + a starting point (since Monday, since 2020).
- State verbs (know, like, want, own, believe, understand) stay in the simple form: I've known her for years, not I've been knowing her.
- The simple form counts results; the continuous stresses the activity: I've written three emails / I've been writing emails all morning.
Form
| Use | Form |
|---|---|
| Positive | have / has + been + verb-ing |
| Negative | haven't / hasn't + been + verb-ing |
| Question | How long have you been + verb-ing? |
| For / since | for + a period (two hours) · since + a starting point (2020) |
Example sentences
Tap a sentence to hear it. The translation follows each one.
Quick check: choose the right form
Five sentences from this page, each with one gap. Choose the form that fits; when it is right, you hear the whole sentence.
It has been blank all day.
We have been blank for a flat for two years.
He hasn't been blank well lately.
They have been blank since 2021.
I have blank Anna for ten years.
Common mistakes
What learners actually say, why, and which first language makes it typical.
Typical for Spanish speakers
I have three years working here.I have been working here for three years.
Spanish says «tengo / llevo tres años trabajando aquí». English does not use have for time: the period goes after for, and the verb becomes have been + -ing.
Typical for Russian and Spanish speakers
I am waiting for you for an hour.I have been waiting for you for an hour.
Russian «я жду тебя уже час» and Spanish «te espero desde hace una hora» use the present. In English, an activity that started in the past and is still going on, with for or since, takes the present perfect continuous.
I have been knowing her since school.I have known her since school.
Know is a state verb, so it stays in the simple form, even with since.
Typical for Russian speakers
How long are you learning English?How long have you been learning English?
Russian asks «сколько ты учишь английский?» in the present. How long about a period up to now needs have been + -ing.
How to teach it
- Start with how long: ask How long have you been learning English? living here? using your phone today? Write the answers as for and since pairs on the board.
- Use “detective” photos: wet streets, paint on someone's hands, red eyes. Learners explain what has been happening. This is the result meaning, and the guessing keeps teens talking.
- Contrast simple and continuous with one person's morning: I've been writing all morning / I've written six emails. How long against how many.
Questions teachers ask
Present perfect or present perfect continuous with for and since?
With action verbs both are often possible (I've worked / I've been working here for years); the continuous stresses the activity or that it feels temporary. State verbs take only the simple form, and so does a number of results: I've read three books.
Is it B1 or B2?
The basic use with how long, for and since is B1 (Cambridge B1 Preliminary). The finer contrast with the simple form, and the result meaning, are consolidated at B2.
Related resources
Presentation
Present Perfect Continuous Presentation
Present Perfect Continuous presentation (B1) for teens and adults: the rule, a form table, 10 examples and practice with answers. Free PPTX and PDF.
Worksheet
Present perfect continuous — worksheet
Put the verb in the right form, build the sentence, choose the correct one — answers at the bottom.
Lesson Plan
Will, going to and present continuous
Three ways to talk about the future and what each says: a decision made now, a plan or a prediction from evidence, an arrangement already in the diary.
Lesson Plan
The passive (present and past)
When the action matters more than who did it: English is spoken here. The bridge was built in 1890. The form, when to use it, and when to add by.